Our Rules for Dig Events

please also see our full Terms & Conditions that has a few more details added, including refunds etc

1. Each person wishing to attend one of our Day Digs, or other organised Event with a separate entrance fee, MUST have a valid Full Membership E-Card supplied by the Admin Team at Uncover The Past to be able to qualify for discounted tickets. The Membership E-Card must be shown on the Day (together with your NCMD or FID insurance details). We will also have a list of everyone that has paid the Entrance Fee, and names will be checked on the Day. Entrance fees for members must be paid in advance. We are now accepting Cash on the Day if you just want to turn up, but the fee is a flat rate £22 per person (and you don’t need to be a Full Member), BUT you do need to notify us that you want to attend AND supply us with your up-to-date email address so that we can send you the event details and location.

Membership E-Cards can be purchased on our website for a £10 yearly fee (£5 for 10-16 year olds). It’s really important that you make sure to supply us with your CORRECT details for Name, Address and Email. Please double-check your details when filling in the payment form. We cannot accept any responsibility for your mistakes. We are moving away from physical plastic cards to Digital E-Cards that can be displayed on your Phone or printed off on your inkjet printer. The £10 yearly fee helps us to cover Administrative costs to run the website and the time spent in organising the events and finding landowners. This charge is non-refundable unless you cancel your Full Membership within 14 days by sending us an email.

2. Everyone joining one of our Dig Days must also show their NCMD or FID membership card to prove they have their own public liability insurance in place, or you can email a copy to admin@uncoverthepast.co.uk

3. Participating children at Dig Events under 10 are free to attend if accompanied by a full paying adult. One family member or carer who is NOT detecting can attend if accompanied by a full paying adult. Dogs can only be admitted with the explicit prior permission of the landowner and must be kept on short leads at all times, even if livestock are not present.

4. Details of the Dig Day will be emailed to all attendees two days before the Event. This will include the address, postcode, times and What3Words location of the entrance. Parking details and toilets (when available) will also be shown on a diagram together with the Boundaries of areas where the landowner has given permission for us to explore.

5. Always follow the Countryside Code, Metal Detecting Codes of Practice and shut gates behind you. Do not hedge-hop or climb over walls or gates. Do not venture outside of the Boundary Permissions. Leave a wide berth if Livestock are present. Use Headphones with your detector, not the built-in loudspeaker. Please behave responsibly.

6. Never litter or dispose of anything. Make sure your holes are filled in properly and take any rubbish home with you. We have Marshalls and they WILL be WATCHING. Bad behaviour will NOT be tolerated. Please leave the land as you find it. Drones are not permitted, but you might see a small Drone above, this is operated by our own CAA licensed Admin member for social media marketing purposes and to help the Marshalls.

7. You will be informed where to park. If there is no room in the allocated area, then you are responsible to find somewhere else to park that doesn’t cause an obstruction or give us a bad name.

8. Take photos of ALL finds. The photos should be posted up on our Facebook Group or emailed to admin@uncoverthepast.co.uk so that the Landowner can see what’s been found. Any items of particular interest or value MUST be shown to a Marshall or Admin member so that the FLO and Landowner can be informed. If you do find a treasure hoard, dance over to a Marshall so that they can locate the exact spot with GPS or What3Words. Obviously, major finds of value will be split 50/50 between the Finder and the Landowner. Do Not continue digging, it would be against the Law. We have to secure the site until the relevant authorities arrive.

9. The Day Dig entrance fee must be paid in advance to book a place on the Dig as places will be limited by the acreage available. When the limit is reached, the entrance tickets will be removed from sale. There are separate adult and child tickets at different prices. However, we are now accepting Cash on the Day for selected Digs where the size of the fields allows it, but their entrance fee reflects the extra convenience.

10. We reserve the right to remove anyone who is found to be misbehaving or not following our Rules and they will be banned from any of our future events.

If possible, download the What3Words App to your phone, as it makes it easy to plot locations of finds and for us to send you exact locations of the Farm and Parking areas.

updated on 3rd October 2024

If you have any questions about anything, please email Sandra and Steve at admin@uncoverthepast.co.uk